Administrators should check that they know the answers to the following:
| Task | Advice/Resources | |
| 1. | Do I have to produce anything as part of the Planning Round? If so, what and by when? | Finance Business Partner or Institution head of finance |
| 2. | Do I know what parts of my institution’s Chest budget I am responsible for? | Finance Business Partner or Institution head of finance |
| 3. | Do I know the major non-Chest financial areas within my institution? | Monthly financial reports provide an indication, and your Finance Business Partner or Institution head of finance can advise |
| 4. |
Do I have budgets for the streams of non-Chest activity in my institution? Note: the Planning Round provides assumptions for future inflation and Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) distribution rates – available from your Finance Business Partner and Institution head of finance. |
Your Finance Business Partners or institution head of finance can advise, assist, and provide templates having discussed requirements |
| 5. | Where PIs expect my support in monitoring their grants, have they copied me in on grant awards and contracts details? | ROO can provide details if necessary. |
| 6. | Do I review financial reports regularly? It is best practice to do this at least monthly. Some examples of areas to look at include (but are not limited to): Stipends: Has the Other Teaching budget been exceeded? Has the budget for unpaid leave of absence been transferred to the unpaid leave of absence account for all relevant academic staff? Wages: has the overtime budget been exceeded? Annual equipment grant: if the budget has been exceeded, are there sufficient reserves from previous years to cover the shortfall? Unpaid leave of absence funds: are YTD budget and reserves sufficient to cover current expenditure? If not, how will the shortfall be funded? Trust funds: if expenditure exceeds income, check whether this is because spendable capital is being used to fund expenditure. If not, how will this deficit be addressed at year end? Trading: if expenditure exceeds income, are there sufficient reserves to cover the shortfall? If not, how will the shortfall be funded? This may need to be done on a cost centre by cost centre basis as otherwise trading activities in surplus could be subsidising those in deficit. Donations accounts: if expenditure exceeds income, are there sufficient reserves to cover the shortfall? If not, how will the shortfall be funded? General: Are there sufficient resources to cover the cost (plus associated Indirect Cost Charge overheads if appropriate) of all posts funded on non-Chest money? |
Finance Business Partner or Institution head of finance |
NB: If you require assistance, contact your Finance Business Partner or institution head of finance.